Support Public Radio

You can support public radio through underwriting and we can help you
drive traffic to your place of business by reaching the educated,
affluent and decidedly handsome KMXT listeners. Contact
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
today!

Galley Tables

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Four
technicians, stranded on the 2,800-foot peak
of Sheratin Mountain, 10 miles west of
Kodiak City, were rescued early this (Tuesday)
morning. Rescuers arrived with warm clothing,
food and shelter and then led the men down the mountain to safety. KMXT's Erik
Wander has more.

The
four men, technicians constructing the first tower in an island-wide network of
high-speed microwave communication relays, included Kodiak Kenai Cable Company
Chief Operating Officer Brian Kincaid and three contractors with Belarde
(BELL-are-dee) Custom Concrete Company of Kodiak. The men were dropped off with
a week of supplies in good weather Sunday to work on the tower. Sunday night,
high winds blew away one tent and some of the supplies.

Steve
Wielebski (Wheel-eb-ski), president of the all-volunteer Kodiak
Island Search and Rescue group, who helped coordinate the rescue effort with
Alaska State Troopers, described the rescue operation.

--(Wielebski
140 sec"By
3:30 ... to the parking lot.")

Three of the stranded
individuals were separated from their camp Sunday
night and took shelter on the backside of the mountain in a snow cave. Kodiak
Kenai Cable Company president Walt Ebell says Kincaid, the company's Chief
Operating Officer, stayed behind. Ebell said he appreciates the efforts of all
those involved in the successful rescue operation.

--(Ebell 135 sec"He was in a small tent ... had a very
different result.")

Wielebski
said KISAR gets called into action when the state troopers and the Coast Guard
are unable to facilitate a rescue on their own, which was the case Monday due
to volatile weather conditions.

--(Wielebski
221 sec"The troopers organize ... get to do.")

Megan Peters of the Alaska State
Troopers said a variety of factors contributed to the men being stranded on the
mountain. Communications with the stranded workers, who had a satellite phone
and a VHF radio, was a key to the successful rescue. Peters said the troopers
depend on groups like KISAR for rescue operations of this nature.

--(Peters 150 sec"This was a situation where ... know what
they're doing.")

Alaska
State Troopers flew the rescuers in a helicopter owned by Maritime Helicopters
Inc. to an altitude of 1,400 feet. All four technicians are reported to be safe
and in good health, despite the fatigue of the ordeal.

Kodiak Amateur Radio Emergency
Services provided four people
and Squad 12 throughout the rescue. The city fire department provided an
ambulance and a rescue squad.